Next Chips: Organic Transistors and Memories and the Applications They Will Enable

One reason that OTFTs have not lived up to the highest expectations for them is that organic semiconductors are not that impressive when it comes to performance. Indeed, when organic semiconductors were first discovered, they were seen more as a curiosity than as a practical material for electronics. Switching speeds for the first OTFTs do not compare even faintly with the speeds achievable by conventional CMOS chips, although they are potentially adequate for the large area, flexible electronics at which they are being targeted. The mobility of organic conductors is also quite unimpressive when compared to regular metals. And despite the promise of a new electronics paradigm that has been conjured up in the literature and trade press based on cheap “plastic” printed transistors, organic electronics materials are still very expensive. And although these materials have made great strides, they still cannot be said to be completely reliable in terms of being protectable against the ravages of water vapor and oxygen. In some cases - polymers in particular - they do not have the thermal stability that one might like to see when high-temperature processing is likely to be considered. Finally, there is some anecdotal evidence that printing - for all it virtues - does not have the applicability to TOP electronics that some hoped it would, at least not once full-scale production is being attempted.